


What's Up Doc?

by Lonely_Malkavian



Category: Supernatural, Ten Inch Hero
Genre: Laser Tag, M/M, Nurse Castiel, Prompt Fic, Punk Dean Winchester, Slow Burn, Ten Inch Hero - Freeform, dean/cas - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-13
Updated: 2018-10-02
Packaged: 2019-07-10 22:10:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15958577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lonely_Malkavian/pseuds/Lonely_Malkavian
Summary: Supernatural meets Ten Inch HeroNurse Castiel & Punk DeanI don't know if this would actually be considered a crossover so if you're here for Preisly, he's under Dean's name.





	1. Owner of a Lonely Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Saw this is an idea I saw in an AO3 group so, I'm sure there's a ton of them out there better than this but hey, writers gotta' write, nah mean?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nurse Castiel/Punk (10-inch-hero) Dean.
> 
> They meet at a diner, without even exchanging first names. Maybe the universe wants them together. We'll see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Saw a prompt on an AO3 group so I decided to give it a shot.
> 
> *I was in the hospital when I started this so that might be why Cas is a nurse. Maybe. Who knows.

The scent of fresh bread hit Castiel's nose in pleasant surprise. It was definitely better than the constant smell of rubbing alcohol and cleaning agent from the hospital he was the night shift at. A small bell dinged as the door closed behind him. Walking up to the counter, a tall man with a thick beard stood behind the cash register. Noticing Castiel's scrubs, the cashier smiled, it was strangely comforting and friendly for someone he hasn't even met yet. “So Doc, what can I get for ya'?”

That deep southern accent almost reminded him of another place at another time in life. “What would you recommend,” Castiel scanned his chest for a name tag. “Benny?”

“Anything wanna-be punk back there cooks.” He motioned back towards the kitchen area where all Castiel could see was a blue mo hawk bobbing up and down. Castiel could smell the burgers on the grill. He hasn't had a hamburger in ages and just the smell and thought of one was making his mouth water. 

“Those burgers smell really good. I'll have one of those.” 

“Sure thing, champ. That's $4.75 Doc.”

Handing over a $5 bill, “I'm no Doc, just a lowly intern for now, call me Cas. If the burger is good enough, this might be my new usual place after shift.” Trying to make conversation, he didn't mind, it just wasn't his strong suit. Bring up nature or nursing and he could talk someone's ear off but small talk was a foreign language. Benny's features were almost captivating him. This wasn't the kind of face you see every day. 

“Take a seat then, Cas. We do favor repeat customers.”

The table was somewhat sticky as he slid into the booth. The seats made an amusing squeaking sound as he adjusted and pulled out a text book thicker than a Bible. If he had time to kill, he might as well brush up on the book smarts part of the job. He could handle everything else. The needles, the ungrateful patients, the tiring hours, and the ever changing work shift. Holding the highlighter up to his lips as he was reading, his eyes were following all of the previously marked pages, skimming to see if he had missed something important. It felt like everything he was reading was something he already knew. Rubbing his fingers in circles on his temples, he took a deep sigh and face planted into his notes.

“I don't know much about books, but I think you're supposed to read them, not sniff them.” The voice wasn't Benny's. Castiel's nose smelled a fresh hamburger in front of him and lifted his head to look at who was talking to him. He grinned foolishly when his eyes adjusted to see a face adorned with piercings and a mo hawk at least 6 inches high and dyed a deep blue. His facial hair was shaved in odd patterns like crop circles. 

“I was trying to absorb the knowledge.” Castiel tried to be sarcastic and somewhat flirty, this punk was rather attractive. He pushed his books aside, clearing an area for the plate with the burger that was much bigger than his entire mouth. “Hm, that's bigger than I thought it would be.” He bit his lip as soon as it hit him what words left his mouth.

“That's what he said.” The punk ran his hand over the shaved side of his head. “Shit man, my bad. It's like an instant reaction.” The hand slid down to the back of his neck, rubbing it in nervousness. 

“After all the shit I've heard in the past 12 hours, that would be the least offensive.” Castiel pinched the bridge of his nose. He could feel a headache coming on from the mere thought. Punk's posture changed, looking a little more relaxed, with a soft laugh, almost to reassure himself. Castiel wanted to invite him to sit down, enjoy a fry or two, but that felt too forward to him. He felt guilty looking Punk over like he was a piece of meat. Very pleasing to the eye, meat. He had to stop his hand from reaching up and tracing the various tattoos that he could see, wondering if there were any tattoos that he couldn't see. His brain had the decency to move his eyes upward and make eye contact, instead of just ogling at him like a horny teenager. A pair of green circles looked back at him, making his heart leap a little. 

“I'll let you get to your lunch.” Punk tapped his fingers on the table before turning around, heading back to the kitchen. All Castiel could do was nod as he was trying to keep his hands to himself. 

Benny wasn't kidding when he said 'anything wanna-be punk cooks' would be good. The burger had just enough of everything on it. For a small burger joint, he didn't expect much as far as quality but he was pleasantly surprised. He opened his book again to read while enjoying his food. As weird as it felt, he wanted to take his time here. The words were there but he couldn't process what he was reading. The first sentence of the first paragraph had been read a good 10 times or so. 

The entrance bell dinged. Castiel turned his head to the direction of the sound, watching a young, blonde woman walking in. She gave him a bright, friendly smile. This whole place had that vibe to it. Fun, friendly, welcoming. All the things he wasn't expecting to see today. “Hey Jo!” Punk popped his head out, from this angle all that could be seen was the gelled up mo hawk. She sat down at one of the stools at the counter, waving a dainty hand at Punk. “Is that all I get?”

Castiel looked back down at his almost empty plate. Of course he would have a girlfriend, that was just Castiel's luck. He wasn't trying to be someone's boyfriend, just someone's interest even if it was just for a moment. All this apartment living was starting to get lonely. 

“That's all you deserve, Dean.” She gave him the same smile she had given Castiel as she walked through the door. 

_Dean_.

Castiel felt like a creep knowing his name without being introduced. This was stalker behavior. He shook his head and finished his fries. His heart was telling him to go home now. Slinging his bag over his shoulder, he left a tip with the check and made his way to the door. “You should come back tomorrow, maybe be a little less quiet.” Looking back over his shoulder, he saw Benny leaning on the counter, waving good bye. 

“Maybe I just might, Benny.” Certainly Castiel could separate friendships from attraction. Surely he could manage to be friends with _Dean_ , no problem at all. He had his hand on the door, about to pull it open when his ears perked up.

“See ya' tomorrow, Doc.” It was Dean. Dean noticed. Dean cared. Maybe Jo was just a friend and not the lover he assumed her to be. He was afraid to turn around, thinking the shade on his face might give him away. 

This might be his new favorite diner. 

//[ **Home.** ]\\\

The quiet of his apartment made him realize how lonely he was feeling. Exhausted, he dropped his bag on the kitchen table and started stripping off his scrubs as he was making his way to his room. His empty room, with it's full size, unmade, bed with a dresser and nightstand he purchased at a thrift store a year ago. “I should get a dog.” He mumbled to himself. At least then he wouldn't be talking to himself. “Yeah, not while I'm living in an apartment, that would just not be fair.” Slipping a towel around his waist, the shower was calling him.

The warm water was creating steam as he stepped in, letting the warmth hit his shoulders. “That's the last time I help Jess lift a 300 pound patient.” He closed his eyes, breathing in as his skin adjusted to the pressure of the water. His eyes felt heavy, he didn't want to move from where he was. He groaned when he convinced his brain that he needed a shower, not just _me time_. The color blue kept flooding in behind his eyelids, that voice. For a few seconds he let his thoughts wonder and they went right to what he was trying to keep out. It wasn't shame he felt, just a deep, deep, frustration. 

_I wonder what that tongue ring feels like_

A deeper groan, giving vocalization to the frustration growing within him. Castiel looked down at himself, watching the suds swirl down the drain, his hand started traveling south. He was trying to justify this mood. It had been months, if not a year, since he had sex with anyone, and something about that weird punk at the diner ticked all of his boxes. All he kept thinking about was all the things he would do if he ever had the chance. He turned the hot water off, hoping to shock his system into being sensible again instead of thinking with his dick. “F-fuck this cold ass water.” He shook his hair out, drying it off as best as he could. He couldn't give any less fucks, dripping down the hallway with his towel barely on him. Rolling his eyes as he saw his laundry basket slowly getting bigger and bigger, it just made him feel even more exhausted. Sliding on a clean pair of pajama pants, he flopped down on his empty bed, hugging one of the pillows. This was nothing out of his daily routine of life, but his bed felt extra empty and cold leaving him feeling like someone should be there with him, not just him by himself for yet another day. 

Pulling the blanket up to his shoulders, trying to mimic the sensation of being held. “You're being emo as fuck Novak.” He mumbled as his eyes closed for the night, and the warmth of the blanket comforted surrounded him. His next memory of consciousness, was waking up to his alarm for another long 12 hour shift. 

His eyes focused on the alarm, scowling at it, willing it to stop and just go back to sleep. Castiel wasn't ready for another tiring shift of ungrateful people, and the occasional harassment from patients who had been given way too many drugs and seen way too many “Nurse Fucks Patient” porno's. At least he had Jess there to keep him company. As long as there were no other back breaking patients. He rolled his shoulders and neck, shaking off the sluggishness of sleep. His body was telling him to lay back down, burrito himself back into his blanket and never move again, but his brain told him it's 5 PM and that means get up before he's late. It's time to repeat the cycle.

Get up. Shower. Get dressed in scrubs that will probably be puked on. Head out the door and make his way to the hospital.

Castiel opened the door, being hit with a gust that he didn't expect. “Guess I should watch the weather more.” 

 

[ **Dean** ]

 

“Peace out Benny.” Clocking out for the night. “Later Jo.” 

“Bright and early tomorrow.” Benny started bagging up the days earnings to take to the bank.

“Not sure if I can do that, then you might start expecting me to show up on time every day and that's a bit much.”

“You sure? Doc might come back.” Dean saw the sly smile Benny gave him and he didn't have a comeback for that one. “He looked pretty into...whatever you are.”

“We'll see. I like to keep you two on your toes.” With Benny's comment, Dean figured he was being far too obvious now when he thought he was being slick about what he was thinking. He wanted to smile but he didn't want to lose what little bit of a poker face he had.

The night was windy as he stepped off the curb, crossing the street on his way home. It wasn't too far of a walk but when it's cold out it feels a lot longer. Slowly passing bars that were starting to turn on their [OPEN] neon signs lighting up. He contemplated stopping in and getting a drink or three. He rolled his eyes at the memory of promising Sam that he would chill out on the drinking, and the guilt of disappointing Sam was way more disheartening than a screaming match. He started counting the lines and cracks in the sidewalk to distract himself from the feeling of warmth from a bottle of good whiskey. Letting out a sigh of relief as he managed to pass all of the bars in the area on his way home. Reaching the final cross walk just a few blocks from home, he could see a figure standing on the other side. It's not like this was an unusual sight, after all, this was the tail end of rush hour, but the silhouette looked familiar. Seeing the glow of cell phone screen, he was trying to see the face, but the shadow looked too preoccupied with whatever was being looked at. Dean looked left, then right to see if there were any cars coming and with the road clear, he began to cross. The figure was still surrounded by the light of the phone, Dean was becoming more and more curious as the stranger started walking without bothering to look up. Whoever this was, it was a guilty pleasure of Dean's to mess with, albeit in jest, people who weren't paying attention. It was some weird experiment that his brain made him do. He stopped mid crossing, just to see what would happen with the other person not looking up. With the sun setting ahead of him, there was a soft glow, casting even more of a shadow that prevented his view. Before he knew it, he felt the collision and a face into just above his shoulder, and a brief feeling of an exhale onto his neck. The face looked up with embarrassment. Dean swallowed hard enough that his throat hurt when the face that looked up to him was one that plastered a smile on his face cheek to cheek. “You keep getting close to me like that and you'll have to buy me dinner.”

“Apologies, I wasn't paying attention.” Stepping back a few inches, he saw who he had bumped into. _Dean_

“Obviously Doc.” Dean tried to stealth peek at what diner Doc was looking at that had him so distracted. “That shit will kill ya'.” Pointing to Castiel looking down at his phone. 

“Not soon enough.” The snark in that reply was making Dean feel more attracted to him by the moment. “Shouldn't you be at home or something?”

Gesturing towards the apartment building within view. “Almost there.”

Castiel turned his head to follow the gesture then felt nervousness crawling all throughout his body. “Park 25, huh?” He pushed Dean back a little out of the middle of the street. He was on his way to the hospital as a nurse not a patient.

“Home sweet home.”

“I've been there for a few years now...” Castiel let the sentence trail off hoping Dean would get the hint. His people skills were a little rusty, so attempted flirtation felt almost cringe worthy. Unsure if this was even a welcomed flirtation or not, he couldn't decode any of the body language _Dean_ was giving off.

The scrubs were slightly too big for Diner Doc, making it look like he was wearing his big brothers clothing. “Where you headin' good lookin'?” 

“Work if you must know, punk rocker.”

Dean ran his hands upwards to straighten up his hair as it started to dip to the side after sweating in the kitchen all day. Castiel swallowed to prevent him from drooling at someone who was, as far as they knew, nameless to him. “Want some company?” He saw Doc make eye contact with him. Dean wondered if that sounded too weird. 

“You shouldn't follow strangers, Punk.” Castiel was hoping Dean would see that he wasn't being serious.

Dean extended his hand. “My name is Dean. There, no longer a stranger.” Castiel blushed with a soft smile.

“Hello Dean. Just call me Cas.”


	2. Owner of a Broken Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean meet Cas, Cas meet Dean. Punks get lonely too, ya know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might end up being a slow burn. I think I'm one of the few that can turn a prompt about laser tag into a slow burn.  
> I'll probably make this chapter longer before moving onto the next one, just needed to get this posted.
> 
> Thank you, come again.

Dean turned, standing shoulder to shoulder with _Cas_ following him to wherever he's headed. “So...Cas...” The name felt like it just rolled off his tongue, like he had been saying it for years. “Where we headed?” 

“ _I'm_ off to work and you seem to be following me.” 

“I could be following you without you even knowing it.” Before he could punctuate the sentence, he cringed at how off putting that must have sounded. If this guy, if Cas, was going to run, now would be the opportune time. Most of the people he ever ran into fell into two categories. They were either intimidated or unsure of his looks, and people that had a kink. Kinks were fun, but they're only fun for so long until it gets boring. On the days he wasn't looking the part of punk, the kink was gone and he was just an idiot in a tasteless shirt that he wouldn't wear to meet the parents. If he ever met the parents, of anyone, ever.

“Now I know where you live so we're even on the creep factor. And you're kind of hard to miss with the hair and the clothes pins.”

Dean looked down at his outfit, mentally counting the pins he had plastered throughout his wardrobe. He couldn't tell if this was an insult or just more snark. Part of his brain said that it didn't matter because he doubted that someone who was letting him walk with him was going to insult him as they were walking so close he could reach out and grab Castiel's hand. The wind rustled the leaves in the trees, he saw Castiel shiver. Those scrubs don't exactly have insulation in them. He handed Castiel his jacket although it wasn't much. “You seem to be colder than me,” He started peeling off his extra layer of clothing. “I know it's not much but,” Wrapping it around Castiel, not giving him the choice to decline it. 

Between the silence between this, he heard the soft sound of Castiel give a 'hmm', closing his eyes. Dean smiled at the sight of Castiel's lips curling upward. Dean had forgotten how long they had been walking but they were coming up on [ER --->] signs so it was time to say good bye for now. There was a small frown on his face, he wanted to stay, but he knew he had to leave. He wouldn't be able to sit down and hang out with Castiel, and the idea of being in a hospital made his stomach churn. 

“So, I'll see you tomorrow morning maybe?” Castiel was making the first move. Dean's eyes lit up, and he was trying to hold back a school girl giggle.

“Bright and early.” Fuck, Benny was right. 

“I'd invite you in but, from the pale expression, I'm doubting you want to see all this.” 

Dean questioned whether it was proper protocol to hug him good bye or shake his hand, he had no idea to say 'I can't wait to see you again', so he settled for a mock, two finger, salute. “I've spent too much time on the 6th floor to want to be there.”

Castiel pulled the receipt from the diner out of his bag, scribbling something on it and sliding it into Dean's back pocket. “Here. I get a break around midnight if you're still up.”  
Dean's eyes widened at the sudden yet soft touch. 

“I don't need sleep anyways.” His body tried to lean in and kiss Castiel but it was over ridden by common sense. They had just exchanged names, not life stories. He settled for waving as he watched the automatic doors open and the bright, florescent lights absorb him like he was walking into some holy light. Turning on his heels, he headed back to his path home. He didn't mind the cold right now, his body seemed to be warming itself.

It was almost pitch dark by now. Dean hadn't realized how much time had passed as he walked with Castiel to the hospital. It wasn't like the hospital was far from where he lived, he had walked there a time or two with Sam. An ambulance ride only took about 2 minutes, give or take a few seconds. Maybe he had unintentionally taking his time and walking with a shorter stride than normal. His eyes adjusted from the bright lights of the hospital entrances, to the empty darkness in front of him. Once Castiel had disappeared he felt, not lonely, but alone. He had walked home from the diner by himself so many times he could probably get home with his eyes closed but his emotions managed to drag him down into feeling absolutely alone.

The street lights were starting to come on as he got to the steps to climb to the second floor of the apartments. Taking the concrete stairs two at a time, his steps echoed down the hall. His keys jingled as he fumbled them in his hands in the dark, searching for the lock. He heard the lock click from the other side and the chain being unlocked. A pair of eyes, obscured by brown shaggy hair, peeked out. “Sammy, I told you to never open the door.” Dean pushed the door open, working his way inside. Emptying his pockets onto the scuffed up kitchen table, a cracked cell phone, random papers, and his set of keys. He paused for a moment when he felt the note that Castiel had given him. There was no way he was letting Sam see this, he would never let Dean live it down. His attempts to hide it were futile as Sam loomed over his shoulder, watching him like he was expecting Dean to hand over some Christmas present. “You don't deserve to be taller than me.” Dean mumbled when Sam's chin rested on his shoulder.

“Oooh, what's this?” Sam stole the receipt out of Dean's hands. “Dean doesn't just hide things.” Sam held it above his head as Dean tried to reach for it. Unfolding it, the first thing he noticed was the receipt was from the diner. He had an inquisitive look on his face. Dean watched as his eyes darted across the paper wondering why he had been so secretive about a paper from the diner. Flipping it over he saw what Dean was trying to hide. “A number, Dean? Really? Is she blind?”

“Fuck off, bitch.” Dean grabbed Sam's arm and twisted. “Say uncle!”

It's a shame Sam wasn't ticklish, it would be so much easier to do than chicken wing him to get stuff back from him. “Uncle! Uncle! Take your damn number! Jerk.”

Dean laughed as his brother all but shoved the paper back into Dean's pocket. Grabbing his beaten up phone, he headed off to his room. Stripping off the kilt and 20 clothes pins. Now he just had to figure out what to do with himself until midnight. It was just barely 8 PM, all he could think of to do is take a shower and then wish that their water heater would last for 5 hours instead of 20 minutes, max. Him and Sam really should start saving up for a better place because this one felt like it was going to collapse on them any moment, or his bed would fall into a sinkhole that he had no idea existed. Wait.

Dean thought back to the small conversation he had with Cas, saying he had lived in the same apartment for 'a few years now...' If only he knew more about this guy, he's sure he could bribe Sam into finding out which apartment he was actually in. Knowing his luck, Cas was living below them the whole time and he didn't even know it. That would feel like torture if that was true. He felt his mo hawk going flat from laying on his back counting the cracks in his ceiling. “Shower? Shower.”

Opening his bedroom door, he could hear Sam watching some nerdy movie in the living room. Good, he liked taking his showers without Sam trying to get into the bathroom. One of the many downsides of having to share a dwelling space with your younger brother. 

Unlike most humans, Dean liked his showers ice cold. It was probably after hours upon hours over a hot grill in cased in an even hotter building. He wished Trucker would invest in an air conditioner that was made in this decade. Some days he regrets letting Sam pick out the shower curtain, looking at fish with googly eyes while naked felt embarrassing, like he could feel the plastic fish judging him and his life choices. The tub had rings of varying covers from all the hair dye he had used throughout the years. One of these days, he'll clean it but he's been saying that for years now. “My tub is so gay.” 

The cold water raised chills over his entire body as he scrubbed the gel and other hair products out, feeling his hair go flat. Little bits of blue dripped down his face when excess dye washed away. He was getting so sick of Sam buying the shampoo and conditioner, vanilla smelled good, just not on him or in his hair. Rustling his hair dry, he felt a little sad that it went limp and flat. 

Pushing dirty clothes out of the way with his foot to get to the dresser, blindly grabbing a pair of boxers. Looking at his clock to see only an hour had passed, it felt like so much longer and quicker at the same time. He was putting too much thought into what should not require much thought into something that will probably be nothing but another friend zone that he's worked himself into. Right now he might as well sit by the phone with a diary notebook like a teenage girl that he was feeling like. Giddy yet morose. 

“Sammy!”

“Dean!” 

“You, me, and a game sound good to you?” Still shouting from two rooms away. Dean wonders why more neighbors don't complain about how much screaming they do, whether it's this or an argument, they both go all out. Dean decided it would probably be the proper thing to slip on a pair of sweats if he was going to be in the living room with Sam. No one wants to see a dick slip. He heard the _beep_ of the system turning on. “I'll take that as a yes.” He didn't bother waiting for a reply, taking the short few steps to the couch, leaning over Sam's shoulder letting his hair drip simply because he knew it was one of Sam's biggest pet peeves and winning against Sam was all about strategy. Sam jumped up like Dean had just placed a tarantula on his lap. 

“What the hell Dean?! You know I hate that!” Sam grabbed the blanket off the couch, wiping away at his shoulder, shuddering and glaring at Dean.

“I never would have guessed.” Dean shrugged, taking his place on the couch. “So, what are you losing at tonight?”

Sam held up two cases. “Wrestling or Zombies?”

“I feel like zombies.” Dean picked up the nearest controller, leaning forward to turn on the surround sound to hear zombie moans in all their glory. “I'll take mercy on you and we can co-op.”

“Oh how generous of you to come off your throne.” Sam sat back down, elbowing Dean in the ribs for his earlier deeds. “Don't you have a girl to call?” Sam eyed him suspiciously. Dean was never one to leave a girl hanging like this. 

“My lack of a love life is none of your concern.” Dean tried to downplay everything he was currently feeling and who he was feeling about.


	3. Reasons to be Lonely

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get a glimpse into their lives respectively.  
> Cas makin' cash, and Dean being an emo bean.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If hospital/ER situations bother you, just read the end notes where I'll put bulletin points about the scene.

//[ **Cas** ]\\\

“Some nights I hate being right Jess.” Castiel complained in the break room, changing his shirt and tossing the puke covered one in the dirty linens bin. Wrinkling his nose in disgust at the smell. No matter how many times this happens, the smell never gets any easier to deal with on a daily basis. 

“Good thing you don't have a gag reflex, huh?” Leaning against one of the lockers, casually browsing social media while she had 5 minutes off. 

The speaker above them crackles. “ **40-something year old male, gunshot wound, possible crash cart** ”

Castiel felt bad for rolling his eyes, he loved saving people. He felt like that's what he was born to do, he never wanted to do anything else, but sometimes it felt more like a chore with some patients. “That's our cue. Do your angel magic.” 

“Only if they're cute.” Castiel joked as they started jogging to the emergency entrance. No matter how many times he had done this, his heart still pounds like a drum every time. Running along side with the EMTs listening to all the details they have on the man losing so much blood, it was soaking through bandages and sheets. He would never get used to sights like this and he told himself that was a good thing. He should never become used to or expectant of people slowly losing their lives in front of him. At least that's what Jess keeps telling him every time she catches him crying in the bathroom stall. On bad days he wondered if he was strong enough to do this. 

“ **Found in a hotel room by manager, trying to stitch up his own fucking wound. ID is probably fake, found more of them in his bag. Doesn't seem to have any other injuries. Clean shot.** ”

Well, he's worked with less information, so this will have to do. “We'll tag him for now. Bay 6” The stretcher was wheeled into an empty room, illuminated with florescent lights as other nurses were ripping airway tubes out of there plastic packaging, pulling on latex gloves, and enough bandaging for an entire city, all for one man. Castiel cursed to himself. When unidentified patients came in, part of him always went cold. There's always that one patient that never leaves your memory, and Castiel had his own ghosts to contend with while trying to save someone. He had set a rule for himself that he could only have that feeling for 10 seconds because fear won't save people. Reaching under the man, grabbing the sheet, “ready Jess?” Jess grabbed the top end of the sheet near his head as they heaved the patient onto the clean, white sheets, covering a plastic bed. Castiel began hooking up all the wires to the vitals machine, trying to find a heartbeat that was so faint the leads could barely register the pulse rate. He saw Jess' face drop when she pulled away the blood soaked gauze the EMTs had used to stop the profuse amount of bleeding. He snapped his fingers, getting her attention. “You going to tell me what you see or just stand there?” Castiel hated having to sound mean but sometimes that was the only way to get other people to snap into doing the right thing rather than staring like a deer in headlights.

“Looks bad but clean. Might want to 'tube him.” 

“Might or should?” He was cutting the shirt away, the feeling of the clammy skin gave him the urge to want to work harder. This man still had a pulse, he wasn't going to give up. 

“Should.” Jess began moving like a ballerina, swirling around all the people trying to do their jobs as well. Ripping the tubing and the stylet from their sterile packaging. As weird as it was, intubation was something that Jess could ace. Castiel hated doing it, the thought, the process, the pressure. Maybe that's why Jess was so great at it; Jess never cracked under pressure. 

Tilting the man's head back with one hand, adjusting it to tilting upwards towards her making sure there was enough and that nothing was blocking the airways. Slipping the blade to the right of his tongue. Opening his mouth as wide as possible, Jess leaned down to make sure she wasn't going to knock out any teeth in the process. “He's been drinking.” Her nose turned up. “A lot.” Passing the tube into the larynx she slid the stylet out, using leverage to assure herself that the tubing won't come out while removing the stylet. “Got it.” 

“Well he did try to stitch up his own wound. I'd drink too.” Castiel gave a reply that was expected. When these kind of patients come in, his humor and attitude take a dive into a bit of Gallow's humor. All his brain could see was the placement of the wound, to the right of the chest, barely missing his chest or throat, wherever the gun wielder was aiming. This guy was lucky yet so fucked at the same time. To stop the sucking sound from the wound, Castiel used the closest bit of occlusive dressing, while trying to remove the attempted stitching that was blocking the wound from getting proper medical attention. He had to admire what he saw, it was so close to being perfect he had to wonder how all of this happened. Watching the monitors finally pick up a steady heartbeat, Castiel breathed a sigh of relief. The ordeal may not be over, but the more important parts were. 

“We've got a bed ready in the ICU.” A nurse popped her head through the curtain separating Doe from other patients. Turns out other people don't like seeing other people either losing or having their lives being saved. The nurse went back to other patients as she heard one woman screaming for help.

“Let's get him up there, then we can obsessively stress over finding out who the hell this guy is. Thank god the hospital finally decided to upgrade to the current century.” Stripping away the remaining clothes, soaked in, hopefully, the man's own blood, he wrapped a clean johnny around him and covered him with a too white sheet. “He's heavier than I expected.”

“Quit your bitching, angel. You've saved another human. We are ever so grateful.” Jess could give the sass as well as she could take it.

She would be Castiel's type if there weren't so many things in the way, like her having a boyfriend, working together, and now, Dean. “I'd date you so hard if you were single.” There is always a bit of truth into a joke. Jess readjusted her hair as her ponytail had started to slip during everything. “Ponytails mean shit is about to get real.”

“You know how much I hate the ICU Cas.” 

“That's why we work in the ED and not in the ICU.” That was as close to comforting as he knew how to get.

Once a patient was in the ICU or some other specialized department, everything was relatively quiet, as quiet as an emergency room could be. Castiel was watching the clock tick by just waiting for midnight. It always felt like time had slowed down when they were in _nurse mode_ , this time it didn't feel like it picked back up. “You know, Novak, staring at the time won't make it go any faster.” Castiel's face met his palm as he rested his head on the receptionist desk. “Are you going to tell me who you're sweating over or do I have to be a sleuth about it?”

He sighed, too tired to play this game to lie. “I only know his name.”

“Ooooh, 'his name', do tell, do tell.” Jess sat face to face with him as he raised his head to meet hers. “How did you meet?” She was starting to sound like a high school valley girl instead of a well trained nurse. 

“Keep it between us, I don't need the entire staff knowing I'm an emo 16 year old again...” Jess held out her pinky finger, 

“Pinky promise. And you can't break those!” She was always so chipper and happy wherever she was and whatever she was doing. If Castiel didn't know her before this, he would assume that she had to be on some kind of uppers constantly. 

“I saw him at this small diner I stopped into after work, We, literally, bumped into each other on my way here.” Castiel smiled, trying to cover it with his hand to no avail. “He lives in the same apartment complex that I do, apparently. His name is Dean.” 

It looked like a light bulb just went off in Jess's head. “By any chance, do you know if he has a brother?” 

“I thought you were _taken_ Jess. What would your boyfriend think?” Another one of Jess's superpowers was managing to get Castiel into valley-girl mode as well. 

“No doofus, that's not what I meant! I think we're living in a very small world, Cas.” He raised an eyebrow, trying to decode her cryptic message. Before he could give her an answer or a question, he felt the all too familiar buzzing sensation in his pocket. “A;ready? Jesus. We were just getting to the good stuff.”

“Yeah well, maybe you'll forget about it by the time there's a break again.” Looking down at the code on his beeper. “Code White. I don't know why they call us in for these. Psychiatric aren't our thing. Guess we're short tonight.”

On their way to the Psychiatric floor, there was another page that told them the patient wasn't on that floor, that he was in the ICU. “That's weird.” Jess noted.

The elevator dinged. Stepping out they could already hear the muffled “Ge- offa- me you bitch!” Reaching the room Castiel felt shocked and awed at the same time. It was the Doe, trying to rip out his tubing and IV's in this hand. “Lem me go!” 

Castiel leaned over to Jess. “Well at least he's talking.” He whispered for only Jess to hear. He imagined he would probably get the whole staff to glare at him for that comment. The other nurses there were as tiny as Jess was so it made it even harder to restrain an angry, still drunk, man trying to get away from them. 

 

//[ **Dean** ]\\\

A few hours had passed with Sam cursing at Dean for having a higher score. Complaining that it wasn't fair, and he was tired, and all Dean could hear from him was _blah blah blah_. The alarm on his phone was loud enough to hear it over their competitive screams and the sound of zombies growling. Throwing the controller down and diving for his phone, he silenced the alarm and began to high tale it to his room. Sam looked back in disbelief, it wasn't like Dean to just ditch a game over whatever that alarm was for. 

Plopping down on his bed, frantically searching for the number, his hands shaking as he dialed the number. Pacing back and forth around his room he was starting to leave marks in the carpet from all his nervousness. The other end rang, and rang, and rang. Dean's first thought was, Cas was dodging his call already, that maybe he had changed his mind and wanted nothing to do with Dean. As the thought was about to play over in his head, the voicemail option came up. That voice. It made Dean's heart melt.

“ _This is Castiel. I'm probably busy saving people. Leave me a message and I'll call you back when I get a breather._ ”

Dean exhaled, trying to think of what to say. The intro ended and the voice mail beeped to leave a message. He paused for a moment. “Cas, it's uh, Dean from the diner. Call me back if you want...bye.”

It felt like his heart grew two more sizes, trying to escape his rib cage. Even if it wasn't a conversation, he still got to hear his voice. He was tempted to call back just to hear it again, but he felt that it would look weird and needy. Dean had never been one of those people that were attached to their cell phone but he couldn't resist putting it in a pocket of the sweat pants he was wearing; he didn't want to miss the small chance that Castiel called back while Dean was hanging out with Sam. 

“Let's get back to me kickin' your ass you moose!” Even though him and Sam constantly insult each other, he still loved his little brother. Any chance he has to hang out with him, he's damn sure that he would be there. As they have gotten older, life changed for the both of them, being both good and bad. Dean was always proud of his little brother, who wasn't so little anymore. Dean wished he knew more about what would happen later in life for being a drop out. It wasn't the most thing he was ashamed of but it was at least in his top 5 of regrets. But he did it for the right reason, to keep Sam safe. Sam no social life, or at lest not as much as he should. He spends so much time in his room studying, having his girlfriend come over, and he's still in his room, just with different reasons. Dean didn't even know how Sam landed a girl like Jess; she was smart, going to Harvard for fucks sake, she was the traditional type of pretty, and would scrap with anyone who didn't listen. If Sam ever left Jess, Dean would send him on one hell of a guilt trip. 

“No way. I'm exhausted. I ditched my studies for these losses.” Sam turned the TV off. “I think Jess has a night off tomorrow.” Sam blushed when he said her name, like they had just started dating all over again.

“As long as I don't hear anything.” Dean made his way to the kitchen, the glow of the refrigerator highlighting his face.

“May I remind you that Lisa was one hell of a screamer, and not just when you two were fighting.” Dean's head popped up like a gopher. Sam was standing in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen, smirking, he knew he had Dean in a checkmate there.

“We were very passionate.” Dean reasoned, cracking a beer open. 

“Right. 'Night Dean.” Sam closed his bedroom door behind him. Dean saw the light click on under the door. 

“'night Sammy.” He whispered as he walked past the door into his own room. His own room was pitch black, just the way he liked it, cool and dark. His body shivered at the temperature change with his hair still slightly wet. His bed had never looked so good since he tried to spend so long on his tip toes, just to get a look at _Cas_ in the diner. He belly flopped onto the mattress. He couldn't believe he accidentally let this random human start dictating his life choices. Dean never shows up to work early. Benny and crew were lucky if they saw him by noon, he wondered how he was still employed there but he wasn't going to complain about that at all. He was starting to doze off around 3 AM and that was early for him since Benny wanted his lazy ass up early and Benny knew Dean now had a weak spot. As he was in the moment between consciousness and sleep he heard his phone buzz. He groaned and picked up the phone with his eyes still closed. “Yeah?” His voice still covered in sleepiness.

“Did I wake you?” The voice was soft but familiar. Dean could hear what sounded like hospital beeps and voices over the speakers. His eyes widened into the darkness. 

Castiel.

Dean cleared his throat. “Uh, nah it's cool. Where the fuck are - - oh hospital, right, doc.” He rubbed his face as he sat up, swinging his legs off the side to stand up and pace. Dean didn't know how to talk on the phone and sit still at the same time. “How goes?”

“Oh you know, I've changed my shirt twice already and I'm sure there's blood on me somewhere.” Castiel gently closed the door behind him. He wasn't sure what he was going to say and he didn't want anyone to be looming over him. He loves Jess but damn she can talk. “And a lot of people are fucking my mother or I am.”

“Everyone has their kink Cas.” Dean heard a small huff of laughter. He knew what Castiel's face looks like when he laughs like that. 

“They should keep it to themselves. I have no desire to imagine such things.” Castiel rolled into one of the empty bunk beds. Break room beds are nowhere near comfortable but when it's the only option he'll take it. He felt his back pop as he lifted his feet up, with a sigh of temporary relief. 

Dean bit his lip as his brain jumped right into the gutter. Right into wondering if that's what Castiel sounded like in bed. He felt like he was choking trying to keep a savage sounding grunt. He settled for grabbing his crotch area, trying to will away the hard on over a simple sigh, one that was nowhere near sexual.

“Dean? You there?”

“Yeah, still here. I was just, uh, grabbing something”

“Well I hear someone scream name.” The sheets rustled again as Castiel stood up. Dean was on the verge of saying something before his thoughts vanished. “It's a shame it isn't you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Unknown male comes into ER (unidentified)  
> \- Cas & Jess have to save him  
> \- Stable condition  
> \- ICU


	4. Watch It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We live in a really small world, don't we?

//[Castiel]\\\

Once he was on his feet again, his face hit his palm as what he said had sunk in. He wasn't the type to say things like that unless he was being intimate with someone and he was barely friends with Dean. “Fuck me.” He slid out the doorway, scanning the floor for Jess who he half expected to be standing on the other side of the door. His eyes were shocked into adjusting to the brightness outside of the break room.

Jess was on the phone with another hospital, probably trying to find out who their new Doe was. It was one of the few things that bothered her in this job, not knowing who someone is, no kin to call or notify, it broke her heart. She looked up from her notes, smiling at Castiel and waving him over, mouthing _come here_ and you never deny Jess when she gives you a command. Whoever her boyfriend is, is one hell of a lucky guy. Castiel sat down next to her, trying to overhear the conversation on the other end of the phone but all he could make out was a muffled voice. “Right, right. Thank you.” Hanging up the phone, she turned to him, eyeing him suspiciously. That look made him nervous. 

“What...?” He was skeptical of her intentions. She's a wonderful person but she is also one hell of a mischievous character. 

“I noticed you ditched me for the break room. Were you calling lover boy?” She slid back into her valley-girl accent, that Castiel thought she did all too well. He started to stand back up when he felt her hand on his wrist. “No way. Talk.”

“About what?” 

“Don't play coy with me, Novak.” She pulled him back down into the swiveling chair like he was a child that was being scolded. “Looks, location, love life. All three L's.” 

Castiel turned the chair towards her. It always felt like she was looking into his soul when she looked eye to eye with him. That was something people didn't do often these days, especially in this environment. He saw something behind her eyes for a split second like she was about to cry. “Make a deal with you.” He held Jess's hand. “I tell you what I know and you tell me why you look like someone just kicked your dog.” As much as she knew him, sometimes he knew her more. She slid her hand out of Castiel's, starting to build her wall up around her. “He doesn't look like my type but I'll be damned if I wouldn't be on my knees for him.” That brought a soft laugh out of her. “He actually lives in the same complex as me.” He saw her eyes light up again and he felt somewhere between happy that she wasn't looking so sad anymore and worried about the look she was giving him. “I don't think we're _lovers_ by any means, we're just friends.” His face felt warm and he tried to stop his smile.

“That's how all relationships start. We're just friends is code for _we'd like to be together but we don't want to admit it_.” She nudged him, trying to get more out of him.

“I gave you the L's, now you tell me why your eyes make you look stoned.” Jess's bright smile faded. He could see the heartbreak on her face. His face scrunched up into confusion. Nothing good came with that look. The last time she had that look was when she lost her first patient. She sounded happy on the phone but now he could see that was a complete facade. “Jess...” He tried to press without sounding too pushy. 

“Calling around other hospitals, I think I can identify our gunshot Doe.” This was normally happy news.

“That's good, isn't it?”

She looked down at the floor, a tear starting to form. Whoever he was was really fucking her up. She opened her mouth but no words came out, it looked like she was a mime instead of who she normally is. She gave a deep inhale, looked Castiel dead in the eye. “Winchester.” She used her sleeve to wipe away the forming tears. “I didn't want to tell you...”

Castiel's memory flooded back. That wasn't a name you forget. It's not extremely popular but it's up there. It wasn't the name that made his face go pale. It was the last time he had heard that name had changed his life forever. It was his first year of residency in the ER department so he was fresh faced and scared. At the time, it wasn't his first patient but it was the first one that was a suicide attempt which he thinks, broke his heart forever. Sirens blaring in his ears as he started prepping the area for cases like these. In wheeled this young kid, about his age, covered in his own vomit, sticking into his hair, permanently ruining a blue button up. For a suicide attempt, he still looked classy. That's normally the thing with things like this. People want to go out looking and sounding their best. His hair combed and gelled back. Castiel always wondered what people were like outside of the hospital. He imagined this guy was some sort of straight A high school graduate, now probably in some upstanding college. There was at least a name to the vomit and phlegm covered patient who kept trying to talk. A name he'd never forget as the guy grabbed Castiel's wrist managing to croak out ' _I don't want to die._ ' before he slipped into unconsciousness again. The name echoed in his head ever since. 

Winchester.

“Father, you think?” Castiel tried to stifle the shaking in his voice.

“He is. Our John Doe is John Winchester. And he keeps trying to leave.”

“Do we know what happened to the son?” It peaked his interest, hoping the kid was still alive out there in the world would raise his spirits and might help him move passed all this. 

Castiel saw Jess's chest rise like she had been holding her breath while she was waiting for his response. “Remember when I said we live in a small world?” Castiel recalled the conversation from earlier, nodding. “and you said you live in the same complex, right?” Another nod from Castiel. He had a gut feeling that he didn't like where this was all going, wherever it was going. “I think he's my boyfriend's older brother...”

Castiel lifted her chin up. “I highly doubt that and you would too if you saw Dean. Even if it is, that means he's still alive and kicking.” He sighed as part of him was right, his mind eased at the thought of that prior event but he failed to believe that the world was as small as Jess was making it sound. He noticed her flipping through her phone.

“Here.” She turned her phone to face him. It was a guy who looked a few years younger than him. “That's my boyfriend, Sam. Tell me you see all the similarities there.” Castiel took the phone from her and examined this Sam kid. He tried to imagine Dean without all the holes in his face and the bright mo hawk he sports. He handed the phone back to Jess. Instead of that 'ha gotcha' that he expected, he saw a face so somber he didn't know what to do. “I'll cover for you if you want to call him...”

“No, no. Right here, right now is more important. I'll probably see him in a few hours anyways so I can probe then.” He wrapped his arms around Jess, trying to comfort the barer of bad news. Rubbing circles on her back was all he knew how to do, it's what his mother did for him when he was younger and cold and hungry with no place to stay aside from run down shelters. 

The sirens interrupted what little moment they were having as humans. Jess pushed away from him, making her way to the entrance. Showtime again. Castiel watched for a fraction of a second as the stretcher passed by him into the first empty bay. He could hear the EMTs giving Jess the run down on what the situation is. Only in this unit could the words **it's just a car crash** be good news. The procedure repeated itself, still there was pressure but nowhere near as much as John. At least this patient could talk. Castiel knew how to do the talking.

The patient looked to be in her 20s, her arm twisted in a way that was unnatural, crying for, who Castiel assumed was her husband. Except, there was no male under that name that had come in under a car crash. “Ma'am, I need you to breathe for me.” He tried giving her a smile, no matter how fake it was, sometimes it helped. “Let's get her stable and get some x-rays, looks like a lot is broken.” 

Jess wiped the perspiration off her brow, removing her gloves. “Another life saved. This hospital doesn't deserve an angel. Radiologists and all those higher ups said nothing looked life threatening, just really deep lacerations and as you called, a bunch of broken bones.” 

Castiel didn't know how to answer. He was glad the woman was okay, or as far as okay gets you after a wreck. But it also stabbed a knife into his heart whenever patients were yelling for people who probably didn't make it away from the same crash, or in worse conditions. He was silently praying that would be the last patient by the end of the shift, he only had an hour left before he could leave all this behind for another few hours, though the days events never really leave him.

 

[ **Diner** ]

The warmth of the diner was just as welcoming as the scent, warming Castiel from the cold outside. Shedding the jacket that Dean gave him last night, he walked up to the counter where Benny had his nose buried into the days newspaper. “Hey Benny.” Benny peeked over the top of the paper, leaving only his eyes visible. Castiel looked down at the fresh pastries lining the clear cases. Maybe Benny had forgotten all about him.

“'ey Doc. How goes the morning?” Benny put his paper aside. Castiel felt odd that Benny was making small talk with him. He heard him yesterday when he said to come back but he didn't think that Benny actually meant it. After all, that is what all restaurant owners say. 

“Exhausting.” He could feel the dark circles under his eyes, he didn't need a mirror to know he looked as shitty as he felt. “Dean ain't here yet but grab a seat. You don't want my cookin'. Dean always said I never really left Louisiana.” 

“That's his loss. Real gumbo food is like no other.” He worked a genuine smile out of Benny, which pushed the nights issues away for a brief moment before he heard the bell. It had slipped his mind the last thing he had said to Dean and face palmed, forgetting Benny was looking at him. 

“I see you've taken a likin' to our boy.” Benny leaned over, whispering into Castiel's ear. 

“Any advice?” He whispered back before Dean got too close to overhear what they were talking about. He squeezed his eyes shut as he was asking an almost stranger for advice on getting into someones pants, or heart, whichever comes first.

“Don't mention the Sex Pistols.” Benny grinned like it was the biggest secret in the world, that would end all of the worlds problems if Castiel didn't mention that specific band. The look on Castiel's face must have given away how helpless he was feeling. “Kid, just be you. He might have a thing for scrubs.” Both pairs of eyes looked to the door, seeing how close Dean was to hearing their conversation. Closer. Almost too close. 

“You look like hell Dean-o.”

“Aww, how sweet Benny.” Dean was barely keeping his eyes open. He didn't even bother tying his shoes this morning. Lifting a middle finger when he walked by Benny into the back where the kitchen is. “'morning Cas.” His eyelids opened to a normal level for a second as the exchanged bashful waves.

“We've exchanged names now.” Benny winked at Castiel, like he knew some secret that they shared. In a way they have since he pretty much hit up Dean's boss for tips on how to get with Dean. Turning on his heel, he started to walk to an empty booth, forgetting that at a restaurant people generally order food. “So, what can I getcha' Doc?”

He tried to think of things that Dean would be cooking, just to have the excuse to interact with him. “I don't remember what I had yesterday...” 

“I'm sure our boy Dean here remembers.” Benny looked over his shoulder to see if Dean's glare was worth the comment. “What was it?”

Castiel didn't try to hide his laughter at Benny's behavior. He was the wing man he didn't know he needed in his life. Then the glare shifted to him and his laughter stops. Dean is looking at him that said _fuck you_ , and Castiel felt a knot twist in his stomach. He headed towards the door, trying not to stumble on his way out.

“Dude, I'm kidding. Get the fuck over there.” Dean pointed at the same booth he had used the day before. Granted, there weren't very many in here but it was off to the corner, hiding away from the others. Dean smiled with reassurance that he wasn't mad. 

Sinking into the seat, he let his bag fall off his shoulder. As he grew more tired, it felt like it weighed more. As he started to relax against the plastic, the smell of a good hamburger filling his nose, he hears his phone going off. He wasn't on call so who could be calling him at 8 in the morning was a mystery to him. It's Jess. 

Before he could get out a hello to her. “I'm dating your boyfriend's brother.” 

“He is not my...” Stopping himself from finishing the sentence. He could probably be in ear shot of their conversation. “ this your way of saying you're right?” Referring to Dean being Sam's older brother, and he knew where their father was, wondering if they did too. 

“Yes.” She sounded as torn as he felt. Yes this was a weird small world, but yes Castiel has had a glimpse into their lives without them having even the slightest knowledge. “I have the night off and I was going to go over to his place...which, you should know where that is...” She was coming up with something and when she was thinking about doing something, it never ended well. “Number of your apartment, tell you how close of a stalker you are.”

“I am NOT a...” God damn, she knew what she was doing, she knew he would be more prone to slipping up at the end of a shift. He cleared his throat. “The higher ups decided I deserved a night off so I guess we're in sync here.” He was hoping that would turn Jess away from any ideas she might be cooking up. He was too wound up to notice his surroundings as he was startled by the clink of the plate sliding onto the table. 

“I'm not above making a period joke.” 

“Fuck, you scared me.” Castiel forgot he was holding his cell phone until it started slipping and landing beside him. Fumbling for it, then picking it up the wrong way. “I'll, I'll call you back on my way home.” He didn't wait for a response from Jess before ending the call and looking up at Dean, still standing by him. “Hm, take a seat.” He gestured to the seat across from him, pushing the french fries to the center of the table. The chains hanging off his shorts made a clinking sound as Dean hit the table.

Leaning forward, he whispered “I think my boss might not like me interacting with customers on the clock.” Smiling, Castiel could _feel_ Dean bouncing his knee up and down like a nervous tick. The chains jingled a bit giving the action an entertaining rhythm. 

“You're also, uhm, 'Donating Orgasms' he doesn't seem to mind.” Dean looked lost until Castiel pointed to his shirt.

“First one is free.” Dean winked at Castiel. It was taking all time and energy to ignore his urge to lean forward and place a deep kiss onto Dean's lips. “So...” he tapped his fingers on the table like he was playing a piano. “I told my brother I'd take him and his girl to fucking laser tag of all things...” He couldn't maintain eye contact right now.

Castiel with a mouth full of burger. “You need a teammate to kick their ass.” He ran his thumb over his lip, wiping away any stray ketchup. 

“Uh, yeah.” Dean's smile lit up Castiel's world. He had forgotten all about Jess's phone call and if Castiel agreed to this, it was going to be the definition of awkward.

“I'll be your teammate Dean.” 

 

//[ **Dean** ]\\\

That was easy. Almost a little too easy. Things were never easy for Dean so this was hard to comprehend. Bringing him back into reality, he felt Castiel looking at him like he was trying to read into something that isn't there. It almost felt like he was trying to look into Dean's soul, even he would be surprised if Castiel found one in there at this point. There was no reason to lie here while they were sitting face to face. “Well that was easy.” He picked up a fry, nibbling on it like a rabbit.

“That's what she said.” Castiel used his own line against him. Dean could swear he was getting _bedroom eyes_ from Castiel. He didn't know what to do with this feeling. He had grown used to being the lion, not the lamb. The hunter instead of the hunted vibe. If he was right, this could lead to great things. If he was wrong, this would be weird and not in the fun, kinky way. “So when are we going to kick your brother's ass?” Crashing into Dean's thoughts like a wrecking ball, he adjusted himself in the seat. That smirk was winning Dean over by the second. 

“6 okay with you? I get off around 5...” His eyes couldn't stop following Castiel's lips, trying to keep his speech on track instead of sitting here looking at him for the next few hours. Or as long as Castiel was willing to stay.

“At least one of us is getting off tonight.” Dean could see through Castiel's cockiness and instead of being confident in his flirtation, the pinkness on his face gave away his true intentions. Castiel wanted more than he was letting onto here.

“Perv.”

“You're the one donating orgasms, not me.” Castiel pointed a fry at him and it had to be the most adorable thing Dean had seen in a long time. Dean bit for it, taking half of it, and smiling as Castiel retracted his hand and the half of his fry. 

“I don't mind donating another one.” Dean knew how to flirt. Dean liked flirting. Flirting is fun but this felt beyond flirtation. He could feel the heat creeping up his neck. Bouncing his knee in tandem with a drum that was only heard in his head. 

“Maybe after laser tag. Action does get me all hot and bothered.” Castiel covered his mouth when he saw Dean slightly choke on a fry he's been picking at for the past 5 minutes. That would be a dream. He was starting to picture it in his head. The darkness of the maze hiding them from everyone else, the heat from their gear and running around, them being close, hand holding close. If it really did get Castiel all riled up, he could roll with that. He could make it go from a kiss to so much more. 

“Dean-o, we have more customers!” Benny's voice traveled from the counter where other customers were standing, waiting for their orders. His fantasy fell apart as Benny interrupted getting to the best part. Now he has to find a way to get to the kitchen without showing the customers the outline of his dick getting harder. He's going through puberty all over again.

“Yeah, yeah. I'll be there in a sec.” He was trying to brush Benny off long enough for his body to cool down from all the unintentional flirting going on between them. Maybe it wasn't so unintentional at this point.


	5. Catch It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Red vs. Blue

//[ **Castiel** ]\\\

What was left of the food on his plate was starting to get cold. Looking at his phone, he had been here for hours. Time flies when you're flirting with someone who might not even want you, and they're just being nice. His right side brain was starting to dominate his thoughts. A lot of _what if's_. What if...

In the trek home, he had a pep in his step; over laser tag. It was all about context. Kicking off his shoes he started wondering what someone was supposed to wear to a game of laser tag. “Jess will know.” That was his answer to a lot of things these days. Jess always knows. If Jess didn't know, then no one would. Grasping for his phone, he did promise her that he would call her when he got home. 

“What do I wear to laser tag with you, your boyfriend, and his brother?” He heard Jess giggling over the phone and a male voice in the background. “Ahem, should I call back later?”

“You wear normal clothes. Do we know each other?”

Good question. Was he suppose to not know Jess? Was he allowed to know who Sam was? “Fuck. Maybe? He knows I work at the hospital...”

The voice in the background came back into hearing range, Jess's tone changed to a less friendly, more clinical tone. “No, I'm not switching shifts. Working at the same hospital doesn't mean I'll randomly switch.” Jess was too good at code talking. Sometimes it made him wonder if she's done it to him and if so, how often and with what.

“Right.” Castiel hung up before he heard something he didn't want to hear from Jess. Boyfriends had a tendency to make Jess love-stupid. 

Undressing in the bathroom his brain let a naughty thought slip its way into the rest of his thoughts. Wondering if he should take care of himself before going out. He had all this tension slowly building up since the diner, and now they're going to be together outside of the diner. It wasn't a date, but if Dean was serious, and truly flirting with him, he didn't want to be the innocent virgin type that cums in his pants the moment he gets any sort of physical attention. Maybe just a cold shower. But a cold shower only pacifies the here and now. Not an hour from now. He turned up the heat of the shower, it's been too long he can only control so much with his body. His dick was starting to come to life at the thought of touching himself. It wasn't that he never got excited or turned on, it just never lasted long enough to need to spend time on himself. Every muscle started to relax, except for the one he wanted to. Breathing in the steam with the scent of lavender he sighed and let his hand make its way down. Shuddering at the first touch, he closed his eyes and leaned back against the cool tile. Normally he had a significant other to think of, or there was an ex he would use sometimes, this time there was no significant other and his memories kept flashing blue before his eyes. Different shades of green. Pierced lips. Tattoos to kiss. Tongue ring to feel. His stomach seized up as he watched his cum flow down the drain. Even alone, he was embarrassed that he was so quick and easy. “Fuck...”

Fresh and clean, he stands in front of his closet trying to find the right shirt for this. Something casual but also not looking like a slob. He was hoping for a kiss tonight. He wanted to look his best without looking like he was trying to look his best. His closet was taken over by scrubs of varying colors. Closing his eyes, he reached into his closet and pulled out a random shirt. The decision was made for him. A black, faded shirt he had worn one time too many. “Lust or Bust, that isn't sexual at all.” He pulled it on, running his fingers through his hair in a poor attempt to look like this is just how it looks naturally. 

Hearing his phone break the silence around him, he dove for his nightstand like it was his life line. “So your house or mine?”

Castiel huffed, a bit out of breath. “Does anyone say hello anymore? Anyway, I thought we were going to laser tag, not having a sleep over Dean.”

“We could do both.” Castiel wondered if Dean was always so casual with his advances, if these even were advances or just every day conversation for Dean. “I can come pick you up or...I'm in 208 if that means anything to you.”

Castiel bit his tongue. He knew Dean was close, he just didn't know how close considering that the complex itself was a decent size. “Well you'll just have to walk around the corner and up a flight of stairs.”

“Really?” Dean sounded like a little kid that just got told he could have candy for dinner. Clearing his throat, from the excited, high pitched tone. “I think Sam and his girl are getting restless.”

_His girl_ Castiel almost forgot he wasn't friends with Jess. They were just acquaintances as far as Dean and Sam were concerned. And he certainly doesn't know about their father. “You know where I live. Come and get me.”

“Is that a threat or a promise?” 

“Why not both?” Castiel ended the call. He was running random scenarios through his head of how he was going to act around Jess. Now that he was ready to go, should he wait outside? Wait for Dean to come to the door? Another new situation that he's never been in before. Counting the tiles on the kitchen floor he heard a honk from an older car. Out the door and leaping down the stairs, reaching the bottom he looked up to see Dean in the drivers seat of an Impala, his mo hawk touching the top. He could see two pairs of hands dramatically moving. That left only the front passenger seat open. Oh fuck.

“Howdy neighbor!” Dean said in a thick country accent, leaning over to unlock the side door. Castiel was almost afraid to even get close to the car, afraid he would accidentally ruin something. “She's a beauty, but she isn't class, c'mon we've got ass to kick!” Dean was waving Castiel into the car, tugging a little on his shirt as he got in. 

“Dude, we're totally going to kick your ass!” Sam started bragging. Sam could shit talk anything. At this point it was a talent. “I'll even bet on it!” 

“You don't have anything to _bet_ with Bigfoot.” Dean teased. 

“If I win, Jess and I get the apartment tonight.” Sam leaned back, placing a quick kiss on Jess's cheek. There was so much Castiel wanted to say but held back, afraid to blow their cover.

“and when we win?” Castiel smirked at Dean's response. He was so certain that Dean and him were going to win. Even though he smiled, he was worried he wouldn't be good enough to keep up with them. 

“i'll drop the _you know what_ at home and not tell everyone else.” Dean could hear Sam snickering in the back seat. Dean's head jerked back, taking his eyes off the road for a second. 

Castiel's ears perked up. What is so embarrassing that Dean didn't want anyone to know? Maybe it's about John. No, Sam wouldn't use that as a bargaining chip, if they even know where he is in the first place. The car swerved slightly, out of instinct, Castiel grabbed the wheel, keeping the Impala safe and straight. Dean released his glare on Sam to look forward. His heart skipped when he saw Castiel's hand on top of his, holding the wheel. Slipping his hand off the wheel to hide the amount of blushing on his face. “Sorry, I didn't feel like dying yet.”

Dean cleared his throat and turned into the parking lot of the laser tag building. “We're here kiddos.” Turning off the car, Castiel heard the silence of the car without the motor running. There were other sounds around him but he was starting to like the sound of the engine, and the vibrations of the seats. The door creaked when Castiel stepped out, closing it behind him. Smoothing out his shirt and adjusting his jeans from sagging around his waist. 

“You look adorable.” He heard the snarky comment behind him coming from Jess. She nudged him as she walked by.

“Heyyy, you're my girlfriend, not his!” Sam pouted, wrapping his arms around Jess's waist, pulling her back to him, kissing on her neck.

“Dude. Get a room.” Dean pocketed his key and pushed the couple forward into the building. It was cool inside, vents everywhere. It was dark with neon lights leading the way to the welcome counter. “Winchester, 4.”

The receptionist looked them up and down like they shouldn't be here. “Right this way.” She handed them clip boards and pens. “Sign the release form.” Scribbling down their names respectively.

“Hope I die.” Dean joked, flashing the girl a half smile. Castiel was starting to think that everyone Dean ever smiled at probably fell in love with him at that same moment. He knows damn well he did. She took the papers back, brushing her hand over Dean's. Castiel's eyebrows scrunched together; he was feeling jealousy. Jealousy over someone who wasn't his. Unlike Jess and Sam, no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't pull Dean close into him, and kiss his neck. Now he felt jealous and horny.

The group walked into a larger room, lined with even more neon lights, with walls adorned with laser guns and chest pieces “Loser picks the colors.” Dean grabbed Sam by the arm, putting him in from of the wall of plastic guns. Sam sticking his tongue out, turning his nose up to his brother.

“Red versus blue.” Sam picked up two of the blue guns, handing one to Jess who exaggerated the weight of it, then throwing it over her shoulder. Strapping the chest piece around Jess, Castiel noticed he whispered something in her ear and whatever it was, it was going to involve Castiel whether he wanted to or not by the look on her face, and the small giggles.

“I don't mind blue.” He held the colorful part of the toy up to Castiel's face. “It matches your eyes.” Castiel gave a deep inhale as Dean adjusted the back strap on him. He's sure this is the most physical contact they have ever had. His pulse was running as fast as his thoughts were. He swore he could feel Dean's hand take it's time tightening the Velcro around his waist. To his benefit, the room was dark enough that he could hide his blushing face and his hand adjusting himself in his pants. He could feel Dean's breath on his neck. “You know how to play?”

The goosebumps traveled over every inch of skin he had. “Shoot Sam and Jess?” and try to hide his ever growing erection. 

“And don't get shot.” Dean poked his chest, with his serious face on. He back peddled and smiled when he saw that Castiel thought he was really being so stern over a game. “Dude. It's a game.”

 

\\\\[ **Dean** ]//

All they were doing was standing in a dark room but he felt like he had just gone for a run. His skin was feeling warm and if there wasn't air conditioning, he would probably start perspiring from all of this sexual tension he was feeling. This might make him an exhibitionist right now. He's not sure if he should be glad that Sam was with them, giving him another reason to not jump Castiel's bones the second they're alone or wish he wasn't here because that's all he wanted to do. 

“May the best couple win, _little_ brother.” Dean offered out his hand. Wait, they weren't a couple. 

“Oh Jess and I will.” Sam shook his hand with confidence and more strength than Dean expected from him. This is what love has done to Sam. He's become more outspoken, more competitive, yet kinder. 

“All right. Game runs for an hour. Points will be displayed above the obstacle course.” The receptionists almost monotone voice came back. A buzzing sound opened a set of doors, sliding apart from each other, with an even colder gust of air welcoming them into the emptiness that was so dimly lit, there was nothing to see. “First team in gets a 2 minute head start.” 

Jess grabbed Sam's hand and pushed by Dean and Castiel. Sam looked back at Dean, shrugging. “I guess we're first.” He followed Jess's small stature into the void, where they disappeared before Dean could see which way they went. A red timer above the entrance displayed the 2 minute countdown. He could feel the woman eyeing him when she thought he wasn't paying attention to what was going on around him. Oh the things he could do in 2 minutes, hell, sometimes that was all he needed.

“Lady, you're not my type.” The look on her face was one of anger. Rejection was always one hell of a bitch. Dean could hear the clacking of her heels stomping away. He raised an eyebrow. “I sounded mean didn't I?” He watched her walking away back to the front with her body language saying 'fuck you' as hard as it could.

“Just a tad.” Castiel turned his head to follow Dean's gaze. “She's pretty, you're handsome, attractive people usually fuck attractive people.” Between the 'couple' slip up and Castiel calling him handsome, this had to be signs from the universe that he should at minimum try to kiss Castiel. Calling someone handsome wasn't a natural part of conversation, that was selectively picked out. Castiel thought he was handsome. For once in his life, he felt shy.

The countdown ended, followed by a loud buzzing. “Let's go get 'em.” Dean grabbed his hand, softly squeezing it. Maybe he could send subtle hints along the way. Their eyes adjusted to the extreme darkness with minimum lights. “Sammy...where ya at?” Dean called out, wondering if he could get an instant reaction out of Sam to answer. No dice. Just silence. Not even a snicker or a luring noise. He leaned into Castiel. “I wouldn't be surprised if they're making out in a corner.” If he had his way, he would have Castiel pinned up against a wall, heating both of them up from the chills. 

“I think your jingling might give us away.” Castiel pointed down at the chains hanging from Dean's shorts. Without thinking about it, he unhooked all of the chains, leaving them at the entrance. 

“There, now we can be extra quiet.” His shorts sagged a bit as he had removed his belt that had D rings hanging off of it. Castiel had no choice but to notice. Dean followed his line of sight and smiled. “My eyes are up here cowboy.” Castiel gulped feeling ashamed for being caught, staring at Dean like that, but he couldn't help but admire and want what he was seeing. In the darkness his imagination could run wild. There was just enough light to show their shadows and not much else. Everything seemed to involve hearing and all Dean could hear was Castiel trying to regulate his breathing. It was starting to become more obvious that they should be a thing, even if it's just a one night thing to satisfy the tension and curiosity. Dean heard Castiel make a small _oof_ sound as Dean pushed him into one of the barricades. The red glow under them highlighted Castiel's face, a small glimmer from the necklace around Dean's neck. Castiel grabbed his shoulder to steady himself from the sudden pin, he felt the hand move from his shoulder to his neck. For a split moment in time they were nose to nose. Dean cleared his throat, letting go of Castiel, trying to hide his face and his pants. A quick flash of red blur pass them, with Jess's giggling giving her away. Dean placed a finger up to Castiel's lips. “Shh...” The urge to press all of himself against the barricades as he could feel Castiel's head move up and down to signify understanding. Dean peaked around the side, holding up the laser gun. Castiel heard a sudden _beep, beep beep_ followed by Sam groaning.

“You got me. Now where the fuck are you two?” The darkness was making them all blind to their surroundings. Dean could see the lights on their chests blinking as they disappeared behind a foam wall. 

“Not telling, Sammy. Your girl gave you away!” Dean shouted into the emptiness. Turning his head back to Castiel to brag at his accomplishment. He hadn't moved his hand off of Castiel's face. It felt so natural, he kept it without thinking. “Fuck.” Dean's hand shot behind his back. He didn't know what to do with his hands after that. He was never aware of his hands until his brain was telling him to not touch something that his hands wanted to be all over. He tried to apologize for his invasion of personal space, his heart beating so hard he could feel it in his ears. He felt the butt of the plastic hit the floor and a cold pressure around the back of his neck. The chain necklace was warming up against his flesh and tightening between Castiel's fingers He could barely swallow all of his shock and surprise. He always expected to be the one to make the first move, if there ever was one. 

“Shh,” Dean's pupils tried adjusting to the sight of Castiel's eyes, shining through the darkness. “You're just going to give us away, idiot.”

Idiot? What?


	6. Be Yourself

Dean bit his tongue to prevent his brotherly reaction to lick the hand covering his mouth. Or bite it, depending on how threatened he felt. He bared his teeth against the calloused hand; his intimidation tactic didn't work against Castiel, the only reaction he got was an over exaggerated eye roll. “So scary.” The hand slipped away from his mouth, with Castiel's fingers still intertwined in his necklace, keeping him in place.

“So we fightin' or fuckin' Cas?” That playful grin turned feral-like. Dean's eyes zoomed in on Castiel's lips, soft and gently parting. It was dark. It was cold. Just the way he liked it. He became aware of his hands again getting closer and closer to grabbing Castiel's waist.

_beep, beep, beep_

“1-1 now Dean!” Sam proclaimed to the emptiness. “Ew, what were you doing?”

Dean's head fell forward, sighing as Castiel removed his fingers from Dean's neck. The blinking blue lights on his chest lit up the sheepish look on Castiel's face, avoiding any eye contact that they had just a minute ago. “You get 10 seconds to hide.” Pushing himself away from the barrier and off of Castiel, shaking off the foggy haze of building lust. Maybe Castiel's shirt was a sign from the universe. Lust or bust, and he wasn't ready to bust his shot at being more than just the burger flipper at the diner that Castiel frequents from time to time after work. He didn't fall over every pretty face that came into the diner, or even into his life. It wouldn't kill him physically if he missed out on this, but it would kill some part of him.

Lust or bust. 

 

\\\\[Castiel]//

Sam had interrupted an almost perfect moment, for him. Castiel had to reason to not be upset with him, it's not like this was some personal space between them. They are in a public place, with other humans around; to him, that made it even hotter. He felt Dean's breath on his neck as his head rested on Castiel's shoulder before putting space between them. He wanted more of it. He wanted more of Dean close to him, closer to him. The feeling of flesh against someone else flesh, hands, lips, hips. He wanted to let Dean have his way with him but it felt like Dean was being hesitant to what was starting to happen. The words he had said to Jess at the hospital _I'll be damned if I wouldn't be on my knees for him_. The nerves on the tips of his fingers felt like they were on fire, finding their way under Dean's shirt and around his hips, giving a bit of a nudge trying to encourage a reaction out of him. This thing between them had been going on for too long, his curiosity was killing him. He had to know if Dean pictures him in the shower, if Dean's heart leaps a little when he comes around, if Dean was nervous about tonight. If he felt the way that Castiel does.

Dean was covered in the shade of blue, creating shadows and depth to his face. Through the shadows he could still see Dean's eyes widen as he felt the pressure of Castiel pulling him closer. He wasn't sure what reaction he was expecting out of Dean but the clash of being pinned with another hand slinking up the front of his shirt, and lips over his but that was the answer to his long debated question if Dean felt the same way, or at least he does right now; he'd be okay with just now. He could feel the deep inhale from a gasp Dean let out. One of his hands left Dean's hip in search of the chain around his neck, using it to signal that he wanted more than just making out. With the tug bringing them closer, Castiel could feel Dean getting harder as his hands wandered, dipping into the band of his boxers, and back up. When the hand left the lining of his boxers, Dean pressed up against him, grinding harder as their kiss was starting to get deeper. Castiel wanted to go beyond the foreplay, he wants to shove his hand down the front of Dean's shorts, he wanted Dean naked. 

The concept of time had left both of them behind. 

A buzzer had dragged them out of the heat of the moment they were in. He rolled his hips into Dean, caught between wanting to get it out now or deal with the tension between them on the ride home. “I was just starting to have fun.” Castiel released Dean from his grip, groaning in disappointment. 

“We can have fun later...” Dean whispered. It sounded more like a promise than an _if you want_ statement. 

“That's not helping the issue in my pants.” Before Dean had a moment to respond, lights blinded them, leaving Castiel open for Dean to look at, in all his flustered mess. He pressed down on the crotch of his jeans adjusting his pants to make room until his hard on goes away, he wasn't ready to hear any comments from Jess about it. He could already hear it, the next day at work. She's already going to have comments about finding them in the corner like that and if Dean really did want to continue having fun. It felt more torturous knowing this was a mutual thing rather than just wondering if it is. Still hiding, they watched Sam and Jess making their way to the entrance. “I guess we should uh.”

“I think they get the apartment tonight. I don't want to hear any of that.” Dean picked up the guns that had been dropped when they became occupied with each other. Castiel had forgotten where they even were, let alone what they were supposed to be doing. He wasn't going to object to having Dean in his apartment. Dean's head on his pillows, fingers balling up bits of his bed sheets, all a dream that he could make a reality if he tries hard enough. 

“I don't mind sharing a bed.” He straightened out his shirt that Dean had crumpled up in the dark. Looking back up, he couldn't stop the corner of his mouth from curling up into a small half smile. “Your eye liner is smudged.” He wanted to run his thumb on the lower part of Dean's eye, smudging it even more for his thoughts to simulate what Dean might look like the morning after. Dean wiped away the running liner mess with the back of his hand. Castiel's insides pouted at the vanishing of the fantasy playing out in his head. 

Watching Sam squeeze his way into the backseat of Dean's car was like watching a baby giraffe trying to walk for the first time. Castiel offered him the front seat, which was quickly denied by both brothers. Maybe it's because the 4 of them weren't together the entire time, he and Jess are still only acquaintances. Things were going as planned; as if they were planned at all. He was winging all of this, praying he was doing the right thing. 

Castiel looked into the rear view window, to be met with the image of Sam and Jess sucking each others faces off. “Any music in hear? I'm done hearing that.”

“You think that's bad, you should hear them on her _other_ nights off.” Dean fiddled with the dial on the radio. A lot of static and gospel channels, which remains a last result for them. Castiel heard a familiar guitar and swatted Dean's hand off the dial. 

“I like this one.” Cranking up the volume trying to mute Jess's flirty giggles and whatever Sam was whispering in her ear. He stuck his tongue out at just the imagery. 

“ _You_ like Bon Jovi?” 

“Not really, just this song. Everyone likes Dead or Alive Dean.” 

He watched Dean's eyes as they drifted to the same mirror. Castiel expected big brother mode to come out and yell at them to find a room or stop at least until they got home. The couple was too absorbed in each other to be paying attention to the music or Dean and Castiel. He raised an eyebrow when Dean didn't say anything and slid his hand on top of Castiel's, cautiously pulling it closer to him, starting to hum along with the song. The car creaked as it turned the final corner into the complex with a small bump bouncing them up. Dean smirked when Sam let out a tiny squeak when the bump made him bite his own lip. When the engine turned off, the lack of conversation between the 4 of them was noticeable. “Get out love birds. I have things to do.”

“Walking around the corner into someone else apartment isn't 'things to do;.” Sam pulled the lock out, his long legs dangling out the side before he could even push the door all the way open. 

The setting sun cast a shadow twice as long as Sam as he shared an exchange of glances with Dean as and Jess walked away through the door. It was just him and Dean now. Sitting in silence in the car, hands touching awkwardly, close to holding. A small squeeze of his hand triggered the explosion Castiel was holding back. His body lunged forward onto Dean, grabbing at the chain again, kissing him harder than he thought possible. This wasn't his style. If this were anyone else, Castiel would be playing the shy demure character, patiently waiting for the other person to make the first move. Dean didn't seem to mind. He didn't plan on stopping.

 

//[ **Dean** ]\\\

He winced for a brief second as the twist of the necklace pinched his sensitive flesh. The wince was over road by the warmth returning to his neck, making it's way down to his pants. His hands were fumbling, wanting to pull Castiel onto his lap. The synapses in his brain were firing off so fast, the rest of him couldn't keep up. Splaying his fingers across Castiel's back, seeing if he could bring him onto his lap. His other hand wrapped around the back of Castiel's knee. There was a soft whimper from Castiel, that sound of wanting more, being tempted but not ready to give in just yet. Dean pressed his hips upwards when he felt Castiel's knee dip into the left side of the seat. He didn't expect the sharp inhale he made as he felt nimble fingers slide up his shirt and onto his shoulder, softly digging into them like he was afraid to let go of Dean. His hands were starting to shake as they blindly looked for the front of Castiel's belt. 

Bingo.

Dean started to undo it, letting out a sigh into their kiss as he heard the clink of buckle coming undone. He's had plenty of practice at unbuttoning other people's pants. Castiel leaned into his wandering hands. The sound of the zipper slowly sliding down was the best sound he had heard all day. Dean ran a thumb on the wet spot of Castiel's exposed boxers. Everything was so minimal but it felt like the world had stopped for him to enjoy something for once.

**Author's Note:**

> I was in the hospital when I started this so, it bled it's way into this fic.


End file.
